A strategic infrastructure that contributes to Italy's sustainable growth

The Terzo Valico dei Giovi - Genoa Junction - One Project traces the sustainable path for future mobility. A project that pays great attention to sustainability, at 360 degrees, from the construction phases, passing through managing excavated materials and disposal techniques, up to when the work is used by citizens.

The Terzo Valico dei Giovi not only contributes to significantly reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions, thanks to the road to rail transport shift, moving goods along the railway line. Compared to traditional road transport, the Terzo Valico dei Giovi - Genova Junction - One Project will, in fact, reduce energy consumption by 29%, and atmospheric CO2 emissions by 55%; with regard to ship transport, travel times will be cut by 56%, and carbon dioxide emissions reduced by 71%.

The Terzo Valico is also a project designed and built to be fully integrated with the urban and extra-urban territory, in the route, but also in the construction sites and in the base camps. Particular attention was paid to the composition of the sites chosen as starting points for the construction of the various sections of the work: the 12 large active sites were designed, built and set up with unique and diversified characteristics, based on their position and the proximity to inhabited centres, to better integrate into the surrounding environment, fully respecting nature, the territory and the local communities.

A commitment, in sustainability terms, was also made in managing excavated materials, which were subjected to checks and analyses to verify their condition, to protect both human health and the environment. To this regard, Milan's IRCSS "Mario Negri", Turin's Polytechnic, and the University of Genoa were also involved in the process.

The Terzo Valico in Europe's metro

On April 29, 2004, the European Commission included the Milan-Genoa line among Europe's 30 priority projects. It is part of axis 24 of the Trans-European network, which will connect the Mediterranean to Rotterdam and Antwerp. The work is promoted by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, the direction of the works entrusted to Italferr (the engineering company of the FS Group), design and construction activities to the General Contractor, led by the Webuild Group, for a total investment that touches €6.9 billion.

The completion of the Terzo Valico is a strategic step in the process of building the so-called "European Metro", the high-speed rail connection network. In particular, the work is part of the Rhine-Alpine Corridor. The latter is the most important European axis of North-South connection, on which the largest volume of goods transported to Europe already moves. A large transport artery, crossing the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. The Terzo Valico will represent the final section that leads to the port of Genoa.

According to the intentions of the European Union, the new network will serve precisely to connect Europe's railway lines to the major ports. Once completed, the TEN-T lines will reach 94 major European ports (including Genoa's), 38 major airports, for a total of 15,000 kilometers of high-speed railway lines. One of the world's largest networks, a true revolution inspired by sustainable mobility.

An intelligent and sustainable work for the transport of people and goods from Genoa to Rotterdam

The first beneficiary of the new line will therefore be Genoa's entire port system. The connection will offer goods a preferential route to the north of the continent. In particular, to the port of Rotterdam, avoiding the current circumnavigation of Europe, around Spain and France.

It will significantly change the transport of both people and goods. The work's technical features (the route slope, but above all the tunnel width) will in fact allow trucks and high cube containers to transit on freight trains, creating a real highway on rails. All this, to meet the request of the European Union White Paper on Transport, according to which by 2030, 30% of freight traffic will occur by rail, and by 2050 it will actually reach 50%.

Genoa and the Terzo Valico will respond to this request: the new line will substantially shorten travel times between Genoa and Milan (about an hour). And between Genoa and Venice, which will be connected in just over 3 hours.